After winning against the Nuggets, their losing streak finally came to an end.
But in the Boston Celtics ' general manager's office, Lin Qi's mind was still taut like a bowstring about to snap.
Stopping the bleeding does not mean the illness is cured.
That game was won purely by outmaneuvering Mutombo's mentality, coupled with a barrage of three-pointers seemingly rained down by divine intervention. It felt like giving a terminally ill patient a shot of adrenaline; the patient suddenly sat up in bed, but the underlying chill hadn't subsided...
If, during a nationally televised broadcast, that dazzling ball-handling style degenerates into a "reasonable blame-shifting contest," and in the final moments, all five players are deferring to each other on the court, that would be incredibly embarrassing.
Lin Qi needs to take advantage of this momentum to re-examine the team's "responsibilities and powers".
While he was pondering this matter, another thought, a scheme, quietly popped into his mind.
To be honest, it's a little shameless.
This scheme concerns Dino Radja.
Lin Qi got the idea to do something wrong while looking at the team doctor's routine report.
Radja's knee was swollen and then swollen again. The team doctor's words were very tactful, but Lin Qi understood... This summer, the Croatia, who will turn 29, is being pushed to the limit of physical exhaustion by the NBA's grueling schedule.
Radja is a good player. He averages 19 points and 10 rebounds per game. His footwork in the low post can leave defenders completely bewildered, and his mid-range shot is as steady as a rock. He is the most reliable scoring option for this young team in the first three quarters.
But Lin Qi had the script for the next twenty years in his mind. In the future era of "all the big men flying high and the perimeter players speeding up", this kind of technical big man will depreciate faster than the ruble. Most importantly, nineteen-year-old Kevin Garnett will eventually grow into his full potential, and Boston's paint area can't support two high-paid big men who both need the ball and position themselves.
An extremely ruthless yet remarkably shrewd plan began to play in Lin Qi's mind.
While the Croatia's stats are still quite impressive, while he's still seen as a 19+10 " Europe all-around tower" by the American general manager, and while some gamblers, blinded by greed, are willing to go bankrupt for him in the summer...
The problem is, for a product to command a high price, it needs to be displayed attractively in the shop window. You have to give him possession of the ball, give him time, and let him rack up impressive stats.
Lin Qi clutched the injury report, mentally combining the issues of "reorganizing responsibilities" and " Radja's data."
He smiled.
Sometimes, the best way to handle a personal matter is to conceal it within a proper official matter.
A few days later, after the training session following their return from the away game, Lin Qi kept head coach Rick Adelman behind for a private session.
" Rick, walk with me for a bit."
Two large men strolled slowly along the empty player tunnel in the FleetCenter.
"I've been thinking about something lately," Lin Qi began, his tone casual. "Our team, for the first three quarters, is one of the most exciting teams in the entire league. The ball movement is beautiful, and everyone gets involved."
"But have you noticed," Lin Qi changed the subject, "That we fall apart in the last five minutes?"
Adelman sighed, his face darkening. He'd been watching this whole thing on videotape lately and it was giving him a heart attack.
"I've thought about it, and I see the problem is... Our team is too 'equal'."
"Equality?" Adelman raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, it's too equal," Lin Qi said. "Equality is a good thing in itself; everyone gets a share, possession is shared—that's the essence of the system. But in the last five minutes, in those life-or-death moments... equality becomes a disaster."
"Because nobody knows 'whose' team this is," Lin Qi said, looking at him. "The ball gets to everyone's hands, and everyone's thinking, 'Should I shoot? Should I pass to a teammate in a better position?'... Everyone's too considerate, too thinking of others, and the result is what happened before..."
Adelman did not refute this.
He even recalled Minnesota's final offensive play.
Every pass was perfect.
But every time they were right, they pushed themselves one step closer to failure.
"We need to define clear responsibilities and authority for this team."
Adelman stopped in his tracks, lost in thought.
"Go on."
"I'll divide it into three pieces." Lin Qi held up three fingers.
"The first segment, the first three quarters of regulation time," Lin Qi said, "Is centered around Dino Radja."
"In the first three quarters, we'll focus on attacking Radja's low post and mid-range game. We'll give him the ball more often and let him play more," Lin Qi said. "He's the most experienced and has the most consistent technique. Letting him handle the volume in the first three quarters will not only stabilize our offense but also establish a rule for this young team: 'We have a first option in the first three quarters.'"
Adelman nodded repeatedly as he listened.
What Lin Qi didn't think was... if Radja fired off relentlessly in the first three quarters, his average of 19 points and 10 rebounds would approach 22 points and 11 rebounds by the end of the season. By summer, that impressive record would be his best showcase at the negotiating table.
"The second one, the fourth quarter, the crucial moment." Lin Qi held up his second finger. "This one belongs to Sam Cassell. Radja carried the production in the first three quarters, which allowed Sam Cassell to conserve his energy."
Lin Qi turned his head and looked out the window. "Free him up from the exertion of the first three quarters, save his energy. In the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, that most troublesome moment, when no one dares to take a shot... give the ball to Sam Cassell."
Adelman's eyes brightened slightly.
Lin Qi didn't pause, his voice deep and resolute in the empty tunnel. "He's the only one on this team who's won a championship ring and seen what the last five minutes of the NBA Finals look like. He has the guts, and the experience to step up and say, 'Get the hell out of the way, give me the ball,' when everyone else is panicking."
"In the last five minutes, this team belongs to Sam Cassell. The young man just needs to know that in moments like these, just give him the ball. No need to overthink it, no need to pass it around."
This hit the nail on the head regarding the fatal problem that had been troubling them for an entire month.
Who will hold the line in the last five minutes?
The Answer, at least for now, is there.
"There's a third one." Lin Qi held up his third finger, paused, and said, "The second unit. For this one, I want to give Garnett more freedom."
" Garnett?" Adelman frowned. "He's playing very well right now. He's excellent off the bench, on defense, playmaking, and rebounding."
"It is precisely because he is too 'outstanding' that he is limited."
Adelman fell silent.
"I want to loosen up this kid when the second unit comes in," Lin Qi said, looking directly into the veteran coach's eyes. "I want him to do more than just defense and playmaking; I want him to take on some of the offensive development responsibilities. Let him handle the ball, create his own opportunities, and make his own decisions. Even if he makes mistakes, even if he hits the rim at an angle, I have to let him try."
Lin Qi knew that the future of this team did not Radja or Sam Cassell.
It's Garnett.
He's the young man who will eventually take over the inside game and the entire team from Radja. And a future core player must learn to solve problems on his own from now on. He must gradually develop that "I'll finish" mentality in the relatively low-pressure testing ground of the second unit.
The root cause of the team's problem—"no one dares to take responsibility in the last five minutes"—is that has been plaguing the entire team...
Sam Cassell is the immediate remedy, but Garnett is the Answer for the future.
The veteran coach felt there was an inexplicable "salesman's flavor" in the young president of basketball operations' words today. But after carefully analyzing the "three responsibilities" plan in his mind, he found it to be outrageously reasonable!
The first three quarters establish the rules, the fourth quarter finds the core player, and the bench gives experience to young players.
"Alright!" Adelman slammed his hand on the rotation table. "Starting from the next game, this will be the lineup!"
Lin Qi gave a very innocent smile, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Rick."
The two walked out of the stadium and parted ways in the cold February wind.
Adelman, his mind filled with the tactical grand plan of "feeding Radja in the first three quarters and liberating Sam Cassell in the fourth," hurriedly went back to prepare the plan.
Lin Qi stood on a snow-covered street in New England, slowly turned up the collar of his trench coat, and exhaled a long puff of smoke.
He was very satisfied with this move.
On the surface, he prescribed the right medicine for the team that had been sick for a month... Clear division of responsibilities cured the chronic problem of "passing the buck and no one taking responsibility." This is real medicine, medicine that can truly make the team better.
But beneath this medicine, he also secretly plotted two schemes that only he knew about.
One thing paved the way for Radja to inflate his stats and raise his value.
By summer, the Croatia "King of Europe's" impressive record will become a valuable bargaining chip for Lin Qi in negotiations.
The other thing is even more important.
In Garnett's future "experimental field," he quietly planted a seed... a seed called "solving problems by oneself."
That seed is still small, clumsily hidden in the second unit's insignificant, garbage possessions. But Lin Qi knows all too well that one day it will sprout, it will grow, it will grow into the kind of team that, in the final five minutes, in the world's most desperate moment, dares to pound their chest and roar to the world, "Give me that damn ball!"
That true superstar.
Lin Qi took one last look at the stadium lights gradually going out behind him, pulled his wool coat tighter, turned around, and walked alone into the snow-covered landscape of February.